NEPATrainTraveler
Service Attendant
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2018
- Messages
- 204
So, I have once again made my semi-annual convention trip journey to Milwaukee. I knew I wanted to change things up, at least in one direction, so I snagged a low bucket Cardinal roomette westbound. I knew the New River Gorge would be in darkness, but I figured other scenery would make up for it, at least I hoped. Going home, the Capitol Limited was the only option due to my schedule, so I rode it once again, but this time I managed to get the roomette for a much lower price plus I would be in the upper level this time around. Now part of what made the Cardinal so cheap was that I would be getting on in Baltimore instead of NYP (it was even cheaper than getting on in DC, for some reason). I went through a lot of different ideas to get from NYP to Baltimore, including the Acela, but ultimately fell for nostalgia and took 93 NER to Baltimore (93 was my first ever Amtrak train and I rode it from NYP to BAL back in 2018). To get from DC to Philly to catch my bus back to NEPA, I ended up going with 94 NER. With the setup out of the way, let’s start this report.
The trip started off with a bus ride to NYC. Due to traffic we were about a half hour late. I decided to take the E to Penn Station and store my suitcase with Amtrak because I didn’t want to carry it all around the city again like I did last year. I discovered that Bag storage only takes card now. It seemed like it was cash only at the old Penn Station. After visiting some of my favorite book/comic shops in the city, I went over to Moynihan, picked up my suitcase, and right after I came out of the bathroom, that was when I heard the track assignment for 93.
Now, unlike 2018, I used to points to cover my coach class ride on 93. I had considered paying with my AGR Card instead, so I could use an upgrade coupon to Business, but I thought that it would ruin the nostalgia to do Business instead of Coach on 93, so I stuck with Coach. Unfortunately, also like 2018, I was stuck with the aisle seat, contributing to my bad luck of never getting a window seat in NER coach. I began to regret not paying with my AGR card and using one of my upgrade coupons to upgrade to Business. I am now of the opinion that I will ride NER/Acela Business whenever I travel solo if I can afford it, and I actually could’ve afforded to do it this time, I was just being cheap and nostalgic, lol. I’ve gotten good at looking around my fellow passengers, so I can still see the scenery and this time of year the scenery is so good up here in the Northeast. The trees were looking so beautiful. I love Fall! I also got to see some familiar sights like the “Trenton Makes the World Takes” sign and the various river crossings, but they would’ve been so much more enjoyable to see from a window seat.
93 was pretty on time, much more on time than when I took it in 2018 and 2019. I got off at Baltimore Penn and made my way to Inner Harbor. The Penn-Camden Shuttle is sadly still closed, so I had to wait for the Charm City Circulator, which is fine but I feel like it is slower than the Penn-Camden shuttle would’ve been. I got off at Pratt Street, took a quick look at the Harbor and the Baltimore Convention Center and then used the Light Rail to get to BWI. Light Rail TVM was cash only for some reason. I had never taken the Light Rail south of the Convention Center before. It’s pretty neat because after you get past the Ravens' stadium, you’re on elevated track for a bit before being on surface level again (no street running here though). Never had my ticket checked the whole ride. The airport station itself is pretty basic, but what I like about it is that the exit takes you right into the terminal building. Picking up a hotel shuttle was pretty convenient too, curbisde pickup instead of walking to a dedicated shuttle/van center like at ORD. I think I like BWI’s light rail connection more than ORD’s Blue line connection.
Shuttle driver was nice and after I checked into the hotel, I ate at Denny’s and had the best dinner experience I’ve ever had from Denny’s. I ordered the After Life Melt (a limited time Beetlejuice Beetlejuice item) which was a melt with American cheese, provolone, and mozzarella sticks. Also had a side of fries and a half order of the zesty nachos.
I used the hotel shuttle the next morning to take me to the BWI Amtrak station. The station is pretty simple, just a waiting room with a ticket counter and kiosks and a little convenience store. I decided to use MARC to get back to Baltimore Penn, my first ride ever on MARC. There are only two platforms at BWI, track 1 for northbound and track 3 for southbound. The MARC train arrived on time and to my surprise it was a single level coach. It’s basically the same as the MBTA single level I rode earlier this year. My suitcase would have fit in the overhead luggage rack if I hadn’t packed it so full, so I had to place my suitcase in the space between my bench and the bench in front of me. I had no seatmates (so window seat for me!) and the car I was in barely had any passengers. Unexpected for a rush hour train. Conductor collected my ticket, unlike at the light rail the previous day. Seats were comfortable. Overall, I liked MARC. We arrived pretty much on time at BAL. I got breakfast from Dunkin’ Donuts, which brought back memories, but found out they didn’t accept the app, not even to scan it to earn points. So that was a bummer. Coffee was a good batch and so were the donuts. I supplemented this with a candy bar from the newstand, which seemed smaller than the last time I was there. Love the wooden benches and just the overall old fashioned charm of Baltimore Penn.
Cardinal was only a few minutes late coming in. After getting into my room, the attendant said to keep my phone out and that the conductor would be here soon to scan my ticket. Well, I waited and waited and even after the crew change in DC the conductor never scanned my ticket. I heard someone call my name from down the hall at one point, but when I poked my head out to look, I saw he was talking to someone else. The conductor never came in to my room or even looked at my ticket. Not sure if I had been scanned in or not, I asked the SCA when he came to take my lunch order and he was confident that the conductor had scanned my ticket and that everything was settled. Conductor must have done that thing where they manually put in that you are on the train because I did get my points a couple days later (including the Fall Double Days points). Roomette was a Viewliner II. I liked the seats more than the Viewliner I, but the lack of an in-room toilet was a downside to me. My suitcase didn't fit in the cubby hole over the door, so I took some clothes out and put them in my over the shoulder bag and then my suitcase fit.
Anyway, the scenery in VA ended up not being that exciting and the Buckingham Branch is the bumpiest Amtrak ride I’ve ever experienced. Many of the trees were already starting to become bare, so the fall foliage was disappointing compared to what I saw on the NEC and even in Scranton. There was one part in Manassas where you still had trees with a lot of leaves, but other than that it was just farmland and almost bare trees. I knew I would most likely miss the new river gorge, but I wasn’t even on the right side of the train to see the New River at all. When we got to the New River, all I saw was a massive wall of rocks and trees. I got to see the Greenbrier river and of course the Potomac, but yeah no New River for me. Did get to see the tip of the Washington monument and the Capitol building though. We had a guide who came on at Clifton Forge who shared some facts and stories with us while it was still daylight out. It was a nice touch, something I would’ve expected more from one of the western LD trains.
One thing that is definitely not like the western LD trains though is the food, so you know what that means...it’s time for...the horrors...of...Flex! Okay, it wasn’t that bad today. I had the butter chicken for lunch, which came with a dinner roll and buttercake. I LOVE this buttercake! SO much so that I had it for dessert again with my dinner, which was the chicken fettucine alfredo. That one was pretty decent too, I liked it better than the butter chicken. Same chicken for both, but I liked the alfredo sacue more. I feel like the fettucine alfredo would have been fine without the chicken. SCA made my bed at 8, which I thought was really early, but I guess he wanted to get that chore over with. He made an announcement saying he would be walking around and if you wanted your bed made, leave your door open, implying that was the only opportunity to have your bed made. He tried to convince me to take the top bunk, but I decided to stick with the bottom. He also gave me and the other passengers some snide remarks because we wanted to watch while he was making our beds. Perhaps I should have done the top bunk because with the bottom in night mode, I couldn’t use the tray table for my laptop. Was still able to watch stuff on my phone at least. Got to see KY for the first time. Adding that state to the list of states I've been to. We hit a large deer in the early hours of the morning causing us to be late into Chicago. I got some sleep, but not great sleep.
(To be continued...)
The trip started off with a bus ride to NYC. Due to traffic we were about a half hour late. I decided to take the E to Penn Station and store my suitcase with Amtrak because I didn’t want to carry it all around the city again like I did last year. I discovered that Bag storage only takes card now. It seemed like it was cash only at the old Penn Station. After visiting some of my favorite book/comic shops in the city, I went over to Moynihan, picked up my suitcase, and right after I came out of the bathroom, that was when I heard the track assignment for 93.
Now, unlike 2018, I used to points to cover my coach class ride on 93. I had considered paying with my AGR Card instead, so I could use an upgrade coupon to Business, but I thought that it would ruin the nostalgia to do Business instead of Coach on 93, so I stuck with Coach. Unfortunately, also like 2018, I was stuck with the aisle seat, contributing to my bad luck of never getting a window seat in NER coach. I began to regret not paying with my AGR card and using one of my upgrade coupons to upgrade to Business. I am now of the opinion that I will ride NER/Acela Business whenever I travel solo if I can afford it, and I actually could’ve afforded to do it this time, I was just being cheap and nostalgic, lol. I’ve gotten good at looking around my fellow passengers, so I can still see the scenery and this time of year the scenery is so good up here in the Northeast. The trees were looking so beautiful. I love Fall! I also got to see some familiar sights like the “Trenton Makes the World Takes” sign and the various river crossings, but they would’ve been so much more enjoyable to see from a window seat.
93 was pretty on time, much more on time than when I took it in 2018 and 2019. I got off at Baltimore Penn and made my way to Inner Harbor. The Penn-Camden Shuttle is sadly still closed, so I had to wait for the Charm City Circulator, which is fine but I feel like it is slower than the Penn-Camden shuttle would’ve been. I got off at Pratt Street, took a quick look at the Harbor and the Baltimore Convention Center and then used the Light Rail to get to BWI. Light Rail TVM was cash only for some reason. I had never taken the Light Rail south of the Convention Center before. It’s pretty neat because after you get past the Ravens' stadium, you’re on elevated track for a bit before being on surface level again (no street running here though). Never had my ticket checked the whole ride. The airport station itself is pretty basic, but what I like about it is that the exit takes you right into the terminal building. Picking up a hotel shuttle was pretty convenient too, curbisde pickup instead of walking to a dedicated shuttle/van center like at ORD. I think I like BWI’s light rail connection more than ORD’s Blue line connection.
Shuttle driver was nice and after I checked into the hotel, I ate at Denny’s and had the best dinner experience I’ve ever had from Denny’s. I ordered the After Life Melt (a limited time Beetlejuice Beetlejuice item) which was a melt with American cheese, provolone, and mozzarella sticks. Also had a side of fries and a half order of the zesty nachos.
I used the hotel shuttle the next morning to take me to the BWI Amtrak station. The station is pretty simple, just a waiting room with a ticket counter and kiosks and a little convenience store. I decided to use MARC to get back to Baltimore Penn, my first ride ever on MARC. There are only two platforms at BWI, track 1 for northbound and track 3 for southbound. The MARC train arrived on time and to my surprise it was a single level coach. It’s basically the same as the MBTA single level I rode earlier this year. My suitcase would have fit in the overhead luggage rack if I hadn’t packed it so full, so I had to place my suitcase in the space between my bench and the bench in front of me. I had no seatmates (so window seat for me!) and the car I was in barely had any passengers. Unexpected for a rush hour train. Conductor collected my ticket, unlike at the light rail the previous day. Seats were comfortable. Overall, I liked MARC. We arrived pretty much on time at BAL. I got breakfast from Dunkin’ Donuts, which brought back memories, but found out they didn’t accept the app, not even to scan it to earn points. So that was a bummer. Coffee was a good batch and so were the donuts. I supplemented this with a candy bar from the newstand, which seemed smaller than the last time I was there. Love the wooden benches and just the overall old fashioned charm of Baltimore Penn.
Cardinal was only a few minutes late coming in. After getting into my room, the attendant said to keep my phone out and that the conductor would be here soon to scan my ticket. Well, I waited and waited and even after the crew change in DC the conductor never scanned my ticket. I heard someone call my name from down the hall at one point, but when I poked my head out to look, I saw he was talking to someone else. The conductor never came in to my room or even looked at my ticket. Not sure if I had been scanned in or not, I asked the SCA when he came to take my lunch order and he was confident that the conductor had scanned my ticket and that everything was settled. Conductor must have done that thing where they manually put in that you are on the train because I did get my points a couple days later (including the Fall Double Days points). Roomette was a Viewliner II. I liked the seats more than the Viewliner I, but the lack of an in-room toilet was a downside to me. My suitcase didn't fit in the cubby hole over the door, so I took some clothes out and put them in my over the shoulder bag and then my suitcase fit.
Anyway, the scenery in VA ended up not being that exciting and the Buckingham Branch is the bumpiest Amtrak ride I’ve ever experienced. Many of the trees were already starting to become bare, so the fall foliage was disappointing compared to what I saw on the NEC and even in Scranton. There was one part in Manassas where you still had trees with a lot of leaves, but other than that it was just farmland and almost bare trees. I knew I would most likely miss the new river gorge, but I wasn’t even on the right side of the train to see the New River at all. When we got to the New River, all I saw was a massive wall of rocks and trees. I got to see the Greenbrier river and of course the Potomac, but yeah no New River for me. Did get to see the tip of the Washington monument and the Capitol building though. We had a guide who came on at Clifton Forge who shared some facts and stories with us while it was still daylight out. It was a nice touch, something I would’ve expected more from one of the western LD trains.
One thing that is definitely not like the western LD trains though is the food, so you know what that means...it’s time for...the horrors...of...Flex! Okay, it wasn’t that bad today. I had the butter chicken for lunch, which came with a dinner roll and buttercake. I LOVE this buttercake! SO much so that I had it for dessert again with my dinner, which was the chicken fettucine alfredo. That one was pretty decent too, I liked it better than the butter chicken. Same chicken for both, but I liked the alfredo sacue more. I feel like the fettucine alfredo would have been fine without the chicken. SCA made my bed at 8, which I thought was really early, but I guess he wanted to get that chore over with. He made an announcement saying he would be walking around and if you wanted your bed made, leave your door open, implying that was the only opportunity to have your bed made. He tried to convince me to take the top bunk, but I decided to stick with the bottom. He also gave me and the other passengers some snide remarks because we wanted to watch while he was making our beds. Perhaps I should have done the top bunk because with the bottom in night mode, I couldn’t use the tray table for my laptop. Was still able to watch stuff on my phone at least. Got to see KY for the first time. Adding that state to the list of states I've been to. We hit a large deer in the early hours of the morning causing us to be late into Chicago. I got some sleep, but not great sleep.
(To be continued...)
